Rent One for the Money (2012)

One for the Money review by Melissa Orcine - Cinema Paradiso

Another day, another movie with Katherine Heigl in it. Another way to hate on Katherine Heigl. This is her latest romp in a supposedly female rom-com, ‘One For The Money’. Based on the series of books starring the unexpected bounty hunter Stephanie Plum by writer Janet Evanovich, ‘One For The Money’ is a confused feature offering that cannot decide whether it wants to show gritty or pretty. Since we have Katherine Heigl in it, let’s go for the latter.

The premise goes a little something like this: Stephanie Plum (Heigl) is a Jersey girl who peddles lingerie at the nearby Macy’s. When she loses her job, she asks her bail bondsman cousin Vinnie to hook her up with employment – he has one, as a bounty hunter. And her first assignment? Track down Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a police officer who has allegedly killed an informant and has just jumped bail. Wait, there’s more: Joe is actually Stephanie’s ‘first time’ way back in high school. It was a one-night stand, it was that memorable, and with their shady past coming to fore, Stephanie and Joe would have to play cat-and-mouse or even rekindle their quickie romance.

‘One For The Money’ is directed by Julie Anne Robinson, whose previous credits include directing episodes of TV’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, and written by Stacy Sherman, Karen Ray, and Liz Brixius. The material is rich enough for exploration – here’s a lipstick- and high-heel-wearing tough girl who’s thrown into the messy world of bounty hunting – and Katherine Heigl is dedicated enough that she dyed her blonde locks brown, but the movie is still unsure with its footing.

What is ‘One For The Money’ trying to be? Granted, it doesn’t exactly want to be a role model in terms of girl power ethos – there is no one image for the proverbial ‘tough girl’; using Angelina Jolie is not the ultimate benchmark, that’s too limiting. If ‘One For The Money’ stuck to one plot point: Stephanie being awkward at her new job as bounty hunter, then it would have struck comedy gold. A love interest was just unnecessary.